Closure control



3, 1955 M. c. COHEN 3,197,984

CLOSURE CONTROL Filed Dec. 26, 1961 g s s l a FIG.2.

INVENTOR. MARVIN C. COHEN ATTYS.

Aug. 3, 1965 M. c. COHEN 3,197,984

CLOSURE CONTROL Filed Dec. 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TIMER INVENTORI BMARVIN C. COHEN ATTYS.

United States Patent 3,197,934 CLGSURE CONTROL Marvin C. Qohen, 3026 W.Queen Lane, Philadelphia, Pa. Filed Dec. 26, 1961, Ser. No. 162,039 1Claim. (Cl. 70-271) This invention relates to a closure control, as forthe door or" an unattended public coin-operated laundry which requiresclosing and locking during certain hours and opening for use at otherhours and has for an object the provision of improvements in this art.To this end the invention includes means operable to so control the lockof a door to make it lockable upon closure at specified times of the dayand to render it openable at other times of the day with the times beingcontrolled by a clock, mechanism and automatically operable. Theinvention also incorporates means effective to make closing and lockingfully effective at a given time and acting at other times to make thelock nonlockable.

One of the particular objects of the invention is to provideelectro-rnagnetic means for controlling the lock of a door to make itlockable upon closure at certain times together with coordinated meansfor releasing it from an open position, if so held, for closure, as by adoor check,

to make closing and locking fully effective at a given time,

the same means acting at another predetermined time to make the locknonlockable.

Another object is to provide such controls which largely use ordinarylocking, closing and holding means whereby to minimize the cost of theinstallation.

Another object is to provide a lock control which requires only thereplacement of the keeper or striker of an ordinary commercial latchbolt type of door lock, sometimes referred to as a night latch.

Another object is to provide a control of the fail-safe on the line 22of FIG. 1;

vFIG. 3 is a vertical section and elevation taken on the line 33 of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is an elevation taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1 showing one formof means for holding the door in open position;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 5--5 of FIG..4;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section taken .on the line 66 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a wiring diagram.

A closure 10, such as the outside door of a coin-operated unattendedpublic laundry, is mounted on hinges 11 in a frame 12. The door has aheavy clear glass panel 13 providing inspection from the outside, as byan officer or travelling guard or attendant. t t

The door is at all times urged to closed position, as by a common typeof closure closing device A. It will be assumed that the door closingdevice, often referred to as a door check, will be spring biased againstan air escape or dashpot which checks the closing speed. Such devices ofmany types are well known and need not be explained at length.

A look B is provided for the closure, the lock or lock unit includingthe lock proper B1 which is here shown 3,197,984 Patented Aug. 3, 1965mounted on the door and a keeper or strike B2 which is here shownmounted on the frame.

The lock B1 is of a common type, sometimes referred to as a Yale nightlatch, and includes a spring-projected latch bolt 16 which is bevelledon the outer side so as to pass over the keeper when the door is closed.A hand knob 17 is provided for operation of the lock from the inside sothat a customer who happens to be inside the premises at closing timecan get out; and key operating means, not shown, are provided so thatauthorized persons may enter at any time.

There is also provided a door hold-open device C which again may be acommon type of latch device altered to suit present purposes and whichincludes a spring-projected latch bolt 19 bevelled on one side to permitthe door to pass over and be caught by it and a hand knob 20 formanually releasing the door from open position when desired to permit itto be closed by the door-closing device.

The alteration of the hold-open latch consists in the provision of anelectro-magnet or solenoid 21 mounted in a box 22 supported on theadjacent wall or fioor (floor, as shown) by a base 23. The plunger 24 ofthe solenoid 21 carries a laterally projecting pin 25 which engages atransverse bar 26 secured on the usual cam plates '27 carried by theendsof the guide plunger rods 28 of the latch bolt 19. Springs 29 on theplunger rods 28 act against a guide and abutment plate 30 to urge thelatch bolt outward. The usual cam member 31 which is carried by theshaft 32 of the hand knob 20 for acting on the plates 27 of the guideplunger rods is shown in FIG. 6.

As so far described, it is seen that there is a door closing device A, adoor lock B and a door hold-open device C.

Means are provided for controlling one of the door lock elements, eitherthe lock proper B1 or the keeper B2 and here specifically the keeperelement B2, to condition it for locking or freeing the door at differentpredetermined times, the lock controlling means coincidently controllingthe door hold-open means.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the keeper B2 of the lock is carried by theplunger 35 of an electro-magnet or solenoid 36 mounted in a control box37 which is secured to the closure frame. The solenoid is a component ofa switch control unit which is generally designated by the letter D. Theplunger 35 and keeper B2 are normally urged outward into lockingposition by a spring 38.

The solenoid 36 is energized by a closing switch S1 (FIG. 7) in acontrol circuit supplied with current from a convenient source such asnormal volt house installation, as from power lines L1, L2. Herein aclock mechanism 39 with trip set elements 40 and .1 controls the closingand opening of the switch S1. Although, for simplicity and economy ofequipment, the clock is shown to be mounted in the box 37 it is to beunderstood that the timing control of the switch S1 may be remotelylocated and operated.

A pilot lamp P is lighted when the switch S1 is closed to indicate whenthe door is not conditioned for locking.

A normally closed switch S2 controls the action of the door releasesolenoid 21, the switch having an operating member 43 which is engagedby a lateral projection 44 of the plunger 35 of the keeper operatingsolenoid 36 when the solenoid is energized.

If desired, means may be provided for holding the keeper B2 in retractedposition independently of the solenoid 36 so the current of the controlcircuit may be cut off during the time the lock is not effective.

The operation should be clear from the above description but in review,as applied, for example, to a public laundry, the clock is set at 40, 41for a closing time and an opening time. These times are often set by lawto assure the closing of public facilities during the later hours of.the night. At closing time the switch S1 is opened to de-energize themagnet 36 and allow the spring 38 to project the keeper into lockingposition. Outward movement of the solenoid plunger 3-5 moves the projection 44 from the operator 43 of switch S2 and allows switch S2 to close.This energizes solenoid 21 and retracts the latch bolt 19 to allow. thedoor to be closed by the door closing device A.

If any customers are in the premises after closure they can leave byturning the knob 17, after which the door will again close and lock.

If an attendant wishes to enter after closing time he may do so by usinga key to withdraw the latch bolt.

At opening time the switch S1 is closed to energize the magnet andretract the keeper B2. Thereafter customers can freely enter and leavesince the lock is not effective.

During the day the hold-open magnet 21 is de-ener-gized to allow thelatch bolt 19 to be projected so that the door will be held open, as onwarm days or (for ventilation. If it is desiredlthat the door be inclosed position, the knob 20 of the hold-open device is operated by handto release the door to close.

The pilot light P when lighted will indicate when the keeper B2 is notin the distended or locking position. Inspection 'by a guard orpatrolman will reveal at any time after the closing hour whether thelatch bolt 16 has been held out. Frequent inspection and trying of thedoor, as is usual and intended, will determine whether the lockingfacilities are fully effective.

The timer shown herein a known commercial type, the particular one shownbeing model 948 of Tork Timer Controls, :Inc. of Mount Vernon, NY.

Herein the term latch bolt means a bolt which cams into locking positionwhen the closure is closed.

It is seen that the invention provides simple, inexpensive and effectiveclosure means which, if failing, will fail in the fail-safe position toassure proper locking.

While one embodiment has been described for purposes of illustration itis to be understood that there may be various embodiments andmodifications within the general scope of the invention.

Iclai'm:

Closure control apparatus, as for an unattended public laundry,comprising in combination with a closure and its frame, a closureclosing device, a lock between the closure and its frame including alock proper having a latch bolt comprising one locking element and amovable strike keeper comprising the other locking element, said strikekeeper being movable from a retracted position where it is clear of saidlatch bolt to a position where it will cooperate with the latch bolt tolock the closure, 21 first controlled power means adapted to beenergized for moving said keeper in one direction and a spring urging itconstantly in the other direction, a closure holdopen device, a secondcontrolled power means adapted to be energized .for moving saidhold-open device in one direction and a spring urging it constantly inthe other direction, and a power control means for conjointly energizingboth of said controlled power means, said first power means whenenergized moving said keeper to retracted inactive position and saidsecond power means where energized moving said hold-open device toretracted position to release the closure for closing and locking, saidpower control means including a subservient control means controlled bysaid keeper for causing said second power means to be energized toretract said hold-open device when the keeper is projected in to lockingposition and for de-enetr-gizing said second power means to cause saidhold-open device to be projected when said keeper is retracted intonon-locking position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 363,920 5/87Stockwell -267 518,877 4/94 Cur-wen 70-271 779,173 1/05 Merritt292-341.16 813,119 2/06 Smith 292-34116 843,730 2/07 Wittmann 70-2711,383,269 6/21 Fien-berg et a1. 292-34116 1,618,738 2/27 Weiss292-341.l6 1,621,847 3/27 McCutchen 70-262 ALBERT H. KAMPE, PrimrayExaminer. M. HENSON WOOD, IR., Examiner.

